The First and the Last
by greenleaf-in-bloom
Summary: Remus and Sirius are sent on a mission by the Order, and the consequences might mean the difference between a win or a loss for Good. Part One up. AU thanks to OotP.


Part One: Moony  
  
His house was run down, and had fallen into disrepair in the time he had been teaching at Hogwarts. He hadn't bothered to fix it up much more than was necessary. He wasn't the sort of person who would seem untidy. Sirius always seemed more the untidy type, and he always seemed like the neat type: Sirius had been the one with the flying motorcycle, the one with the most spark and life and innocence.  
  
Innocence.  
  
But instead, Sirius was almost compulsively neat and clean, and Remus was extremely untidy and not at all vain.  
  
He sighed and sat down in the old, torn chair. The day was hot, and he had to work in his garden for a while. The gnomes were just out of hand again.  
  
Summer had begun, another quiet, normal summer. He considered sending an owl to Harry - he had of course heard in the most recent papers about the remarkable boy winning the Triwizard Tournament, and had been reading the ridiculous Skeeter articles about Harry's sanity. Anyway, he hadn't heard from Harry since walking out of the office a little over a year ago, and James' son was bound to have gotten into some interesting scrapes and adventures during the Tournament.  
  
A sharp rap on the window brought him out of his reverie, and he heaved himself wearily out of the chair to let in the owl. It spun around the room once, then landed on his shoulder with some dignity. He recognized it at once: it was the same owl that had delivered Sirius' letter so long ago, months ago. He had been mildly hurt that his friend hadn't contacted him more often, but then that was Sirius for you. Anyway, he'd probably been busy, and worried about his godson in the tournament.  
  
He tore open the letter and froze as he read the first paragraphs.  
  
Moony - You might want to sit down before reading the rest of this, as it's extremely shocking news.  
  
Remus smiled and didn't comply, figuring Sirius was going to explain some amazing thing Harry had done to win the Tournament or something.  
  
You've heard, of course, about Harry's participation as the fourth Triwizard champion. -Well, duh, Remus thought wryly. - What you haven't heard is what happened after the Third Task. - Hmm. What did Harry do this time? - He was Portkeyed by the Cup to a graveyard with the Diggory boy - they took the cup together. And Cedric was killed.  
  
Now Remus sat down.  
  
We both guessed, of course, that our dear friend Wormtail was trying to find Voldemort and have him ressurected. Well, he's succeeded.  
  
I'm on my way to your place as you read this. I can't Apperate without a wand, and it'd be hard to Floo. The reason you haven't heard about the rebirth is Fudge is denying it happened - he's been reading Rita Skeeter, as Harry said. Harry barely escaped with his life, and he's not exactly in a good way now - his owls are sounding pretty depressing. Dumbledore's sending me to gather the old crowd. I think I'll visit Harry when I go find Figg.  
  
I can't write more now. I'll see you tomorrow, probably.  
  
Padfoot  
  
Remus sat in his chair for a long time in silence.  
  
Then the owl hooted softly, sensing his stunned mood, and he started, closed his eyes, and sighed heavily, as if he had been holding his breath. He composed a quick reply to Sirius' letter.  
  
Padfoot  
  
Waiting to see you. Willing to do whatever I can. I'd like to see Harry too sometime, if you don't mind. I'd like to hear more news.  
  
Moony  
  
He paused, wanting to say something more, but decided he could say whatever he had to tomorrow. He sent the owl off, then took out a second sheet of parchment and wrote a letter to Harry. When he had finished it, he went to the Owl Office and sent it off.  
  
Harry yawned and lay on his back. Now more than ever, he wished that he could perform magic outside of school. A Wakefulness Charm.something.anything to keep him awake.  
  
Hedwig seemed to frown at him from her perch, as if she sensed his thoughts. She fluttered down to his nightstand and leaned down to nip at his ear.  
  
"I know, Hedwig," he sighed. "I'm not going to do magic. It's just.I don't want to sleep. I don't want to dream."  
  
She hooted softly, sympathetically, and he sat up, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. But unable to stay still for too long, he reached for his glasses and adjusted them onto his face. One-seventeen, the numbers on his alarm glowed. July thirteenth.  
  
There was a tapping noise, and it took a moment for Harry to register that it was an owl outside the closed window. He stood, ignoring Hedwig's curious stare and the way his too-big pajamas sagged, and let the owl in.  
  
It was a tawny, and not one he recognized. It flew over next to Hedwig, who glared suspiciously at it, and turned to look at Harry.  
  
He walked back over to his bed, and pulled off the message, sitting down. Sliding his finger under the strange seal, he pulled out the parchment, unfolded the letter, and moved his eyes immediately to the signature.  
  
Moony  
  
Harry smiled with the memory of his favorite DADA teacher, but wondered why Professor Lupin was writing to him. Had he heard? Did he know about what had happened?  
  
Harry's eyes flickered back to the top, and he started to read.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
I just received a letter from Sirius. He told me briefly about recent events. after the Third Task. I hadn't heard anything before that, and was thinking of writing you to congratulate you on your win, but I see things are much grimmer than I had thought.  
  
Sirius is going to be arriving here tomorrow, probably. We're going to alert the old crowd, the resistance fighters. Don't be surprised if I turn up in a few days with my big black dog - one of the fighters lives very close to you.  
  
I'm just writing to see how you're holding up - I haven't heard about what happened in very much detail, or anything about the Tournament itself, so I'm pretty clueless right now. If you need to talk to someone, you can write to me - Sirius told me in his other owl, last September, that you were having dreams, and I expect that's continuing now. Don't hesitate to ask any favors of me - I want to do whatever I can.  
  
I have to go now - I'd like to write more, but I need to get downtown to get an owl before the office closes, and I've got some things from Diagon Alley I'm going to be needing.  
  
Hoping to see you sometime soon.  
  
Moony  
  
Harry sighed, half in relief, half in something else. It would be good to see Lupin again, and Sirius too. He reread the letter, wondering who it was that lived in this area. What had Dumbledore said? He thought hard for a moment. Then the Headmaster's serious voice echoed in his head. Remus Lupin, Mundungus Fletcher, Arabella Figg -  
  
Arabella Figg?!  
  
Mrs. Figg?  
  
He found himself wanting to laugh for the first time in days, in over a week. Mrs. Figg was a witch! Dumbledore had probably placed her in the area for his protection - he never would have guessed it, but that had to be it. He'd known a witch from the time he was four years old. The simple absurdity of Mrs. Figg - Mrs. Figg! - being a witch -  
A sharp series of barks woke him, then a shout of, "Moony!"  
  
"Hey, Padfoot," Remus called, unable to contain his grin as Sirius started to hammer on the door. "Calm down, there's a good boy. I'll be right there."  
  
"Hurry it," a disgruntled voice said. "It may be July, but it's no picnic out here. I'm all wet." "Why?"  
  
"It's raining, you blind, deaf git."  
  
"Oh." Remus pulled his robes about himself. He had wondered why it didn't seem to be very bright out. He hurried to the door and swung it open.  
  
Sirius stood there, shivering a bit, positively soaked. That didn't stop him, however, from embracing Remus. Then, "Oh. Sorry."  
  
"You could've let me dry you off first. Come on, come in."  
  
"Nice place you've got," Sirius said, and Remus wasn't sure whether he caught a bit of sarcasm.  
  
"I know, it's not very clean. I went to Diagon Alley last night to pick up some potion supplies, and met Hagrid there. He, er.convinced me to have a couple pints."  
  
"I woke you up, didn't I?" Sirius said, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry."  
  
"No problem. I've been getting a bit lazy lately. Always sleeping in, and the slugs got to my enchanted cabbage before I did. Plus, I still haven't redecorated and I didn't degnome the garden yesterday like I meant to."  
  
"Well, I'm not exactly keeping up on household chores lately," Sirius grimaced. "We're all going to be preoccupied.I just wish I had my wand. I had to walk most of the way here."  
  
Remus realized suddenly what was missing. "Sirius, where's Buckbeak?"  
  
"Oh," Sirius said, looking a bit sad. "I had to leave him in my old hiding place. I've got someone feeding him. I can't bring him along - I mean, where would I keep him?"  
  
"Point taken," Remus sighed. "I wish.never mind."  
  
"I ought to owl Harry.damn. Where's Deal?"  
  
"I owled him yesterday. Maybe you could get me some more details first as to what precisely happened?"  
  
A shadow passed across Sirius' face. "I don't know where to start," he sighed.  
  
"Well, I'll start by - no, hang on." Remus pulled out his wand and performed a quick Drying Charm on them both. It left their clothing looking as if they had been starched, but it was better than being soaking wet. "All right. How did Harry get entered into the Tournament? I mean, wasn't there an age limit?"  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said, and shook his head. "He got entered by - oh, God, this is so hard to explain. I can't start there. Firstly. You know about Barty Crouch Junior?"  
  
"'Course. I heard all about it, it was all over the papers. He was a Death Eater, right? Died a year after he went to Azkaban?"  
  
"That's right where it started," Sirius said, leaning forward. "He didn't die. Eleanor Crouch did - they used a Polyjuice Potion to sneak their son out. She retained his appearance to the end. Crouch Junior - well, his father staged his wife's death. Then he put his son under the Imperious and kept him that way for years. After a while, though, it would wear off for times, and - well, you heard about the World Cup? Harry got Top Box seats with the Weasleys, and Crouch Junior was there, under an Invisibility Cloak. He stole Harry's wand, and that night he conjured the Mark. Then - well, dear old Peter had already found Voldemort, and they came. They put Crouch Senior under the Imperious, and Junior attacked Moody - you heard about that too, right? Junior used Polyjuice, went to Hogwarts as Moody with Moody imprisoned in his trunk. Then he put Harry's name in when the time came. Peter, you see, had run into Bertha Jorkins and brought her to Voldemort, where they'd found out about the Tournament.  
  
"He helped Harry out somewhat, how I understand it, through all three tasks. Passed on clues indirectly. Anyway, I'll tell you about each of the tasks later. What matters is, when Harry and Cedric Diggory both got to the center - they'd saved each others' lives several times, and both thought the other deserved it more. So Harry - and this is what really is killing him - suggested they both take the Cup at the same time, and they did. It was a Portkey, Crouch Junior had Transfigured it. They were taken to the graveyard where Voldemort's father is buried, and Cedric was killed by Peter. Then they took Tom Riddle's bone, and cut Harry's arm, put his blood in, and Peter cut off the rest of his hand. And Voldemort was reborn. He called the Death Eaters, gave Peter a new hand, some sort of magical hand, and challenged Harry to a duel. He accepted, of course.  
  
"He was hit with the Cruciatus several times, then he tried to disarm Voldemort at the same time as Voldemort shot the Killing Curse at him, and - their wands are brothers. The Priori Incantatem effect. It fed out several of the spells from Voldemort's wand, and then shadow-forms. Cedric, an old man, Bertha Jorkins, and." Sirius trailed off, and the shutters closed behind his eyes.  
  
"Lily and James," Remus breathed. "Oh, my God, no. He talked to the Priori Incantatem effects of Lily and James? He had to.to face them.to." He buried his face in his hands. Sirius nodded, unable to speak.  
  
"Then he broke the connection," Sirius continued after a moment, his voice soft and rough. "Ran for it. Got Cedric's body, Summoned the Portkey. Got back to Hogwarts. Crouch Junior took him - oh, and Crouch had killed his father earlier in the year -"  
  
"He killed his father? Crouch Senior's dead?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "Well, they used Veritaserum, but later when Fudge came to interrogate him, he brought a dementor, which performed the Kiss, of course." He paused a moment. "And Fudge wouldn't believe Dumbledore. I mean, what a git - from what Harry and Dumbledore said, Crouch Junior mentioned Peter several times. With his testimony, I'd be free.  
  
"And then Dumbledore sent me off. I've gotten three owls from Harry since then, all sounding depressed. He's not getting much sleep - dreams, nightmares."  
  
Remus frowned. "Well, I think I have a solution for that, at least. I'll just send him a good supply of Wakefulness Draught."  
  
"Better yet, bring it to him when we visit Figg," Sirius said with a shrug. "Dumbledore said he'd contact me here. It shouldn't be too long - maybe tomorrow or the next day. You don't mind if I stay here, do you?"  
  
"Of course not. I stayed at your house those times, all those years ago. But at that point in time.well, let's just say my place wasn't up to visitors." He grimaced. Sirius shrugged. "What time is it?"  
  
"Ten," Remus said, checking. "Ten-oh-nine, specifically."  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said, and looked suddenly distracted. "All right. I need to owl Harry. Where is that pest of an owl of mine? Deal? Deal?"  
  
He peered out the window, then opened the door to let an extremely soggy, yet not at all perturbed owl in. Remus tried to dry it off, without much success.  
  
"I don't think he wants to take any messages, Sirius, he doesn't seem to want to go outside again, it's soaking wet. Besides, the message would be too."  
  
"Nonsense, dear Moony," Sirius said, flashing him a grin. "You'd charm it to repel water."  
  
"Would I now?" Remus said, amused. "Should I charm the owl too?"  
  
"Certainly not!" Sirius said, sounding indignant. "What's the fun in that? Just give me a minute to write it."  
  
It took considerably more than a minute to write, although Remus didn't mind in the least, and when he was finished Sirius read it over carefully, squinting at it, muttering to himself. "Does that sound too.no.well, he did say that he.I wonder if that's."  
  
"Oh, for God's sake, Padfoot. It doesn't have to be perfect."  
  
"But I want to make sure that it's right - that I don't say something wrong -"  
  
"Padfoot, he doesn't expect you to be perfect."  
  
"Fine," Sirius snapped, and handed him the parchment. "Here. Stop it. You're deflating my ego. It's not good for me."  
  
Remus drew out his wand. "Impervius," he muttered. "There. Deal, come here. Deal!"  
  
Sirius snatched him out of midair by his tail feathers and handed him to Remus. "Impervius," he whispered, tapping the owl. He attatched the letter in silence, then opened the door and let Deal flutter into the storm. Sirius watched his owl vanish into the rain, and frowned at his friend. "Moony! You charmed him!"  
  
"Well, otherwise he'd get Harry's room all wet. His aunt and uncle wouldn't be best pleased."  
  
Sirius nodded. "You're right," he said. "I'd hate to be responsible for Harry getting in trouble."  
  
Six days later, Harry was pruning the hedges and grimacing, sweat rolling down his back, when he heard a quiet voice. "Oh for God's sake, Padfoot, just find a fire hydrant! Privet Drive, you said?"  
  
A sharp bark issued from off to the left near number two, and Harry stood, dropping the shears with a grin and starting across the grass.  
  
"Boy! What are you doing? Have you finished the hedges already?" Uncle Vernon bellowed. Harry turned hastily back to the hedges, glancing behind him and wincing as he clipped off a bit more than necessary.  
  
"Harry!" Professor Lupin's voice said, and he turned, grinning. "Padfoot, come on, it's not that one, it's this one - how are you doing?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "All right, I guess," he said, and dropped the shears again.  
  
"Boy, I said -" Uncle Vernon's voice came from inside, and he opened the door, coming out with a nasty snarl. He stopped when he saw a startled- looking Lupin and the big black dog. "Who in the blazes are you?"  
  
"I need to speak to Harry here," Lupin said pleasantly. "Might we come in?"  
  
"With that great bloody thing? Probably has fleas, I won't allow it in the house - and the boy's not done with his work. What do you think you're bloody doing, boy? You cut a good five inches off of this one and -"  
  
"Oh, I can fix that," Lupin said with a smile, pulling out his wand. "Move aside, Harry, please."  
  
Uncle Vernon recognized the wand and paled. "You - get away - you - no, I won't allow it. Never mind the hedge. Get off my property! You're not wanted. Boy, you get inside -"  
  
"Oh, Uncle Vernon, I told you about my godfather?"  
  
Uncle Vernon squeaked, looking terrified. "Is that - are you - but I thought - but is you him, then?" he said, his voice strained and tiny.  
  
"Oh, no. This is my old professor. That's Sirius," Harry said, and pointed at Padfoot.  
  
Uncle Vernon squeaked again. "Erm - if you'll excuse me," he said timidly, and ran into the house.  
  
Harry actually laughed out loud. "Oh, you - thanks! Come on, come in - my room's upstairs, they'll leave us alone now. Oh, that was a good one!" He was grinning. "Come on, then."  
  
He ushered Lupin and Sirius inside and up the stairs to his small room. Lupin looked awkwardly around, and Sirius transformed back, giving Harry a hug and ruffling his hair. "Sit down, then," Harry said quickly, gesturing to the bed and sitting himself on the floor. "Thanks for the letter, Professor Lupin -"  
  
"Harry, I'd really prefer that you call me Remus, or Moony. We aren't at school anymore."  
  
"Oh - right," Harry said, and Sirius' grin faded, as did Harry's.  
  
"How are you, Harry? All right?"  
  
"A bit tired," Harry admitted. "I haven't slept for a while -"  
  
"How long?" Sirius demanded, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"Few days," Harry shrugged. Sirius opened his mouth, about to make a sharp remark, but Remus gave him a look, and pulled a good-sized bottle out of his pocket. Harry looked at it a bit uncertainly.  
  
"Wakefulness Draught," Remus explained before Harry could ask. "I had some extra on hand - I always keep some around. Sirius told me you'd been having bad dreams."  
  
"Thanks!" Harry said, looking extremely relieved. "I was thinking I was going to have to sleep tonight."  
  
"It doesn't mean you don't need sleep," Remus warned. "It just means you aren't tired. If you use it too long, when you run out, you'll sleep for days on end and wake up feeling like you had several pints."  
  
"I doubt Harry's ever had several pints, Remus," Sirius said drily, then frowned and turned to Harry. "Have you?"  
  
"No," Harry assured him. "Never had anything stronger than butterbeer."  
  
"Good," Sirius said, looking mildly relieved.  
  
"Sirius, if you don't stop being parental, I'm going to find Harry's cauldron and hit you over the head with it. It's getting eerie. You aren't the kind of figure to be authoratative. When you were his age, you -"  
  
"Don't tell him what I did! He'll get ideas!"  
  
"Sirius, the cauldron is coming to get you."  
  
"My cauldron's full of textbooks," Harry warned.  
  
"Big ones?" Remus asked eagerly, his eyes glinting with mischeif. "All the better."  
  
"It's full of textbooks? What, haven't you done your homework? Ouch, Moony!"  
  
"Actually, I'm becoming a bit of a workaholic," Harry admitted. Sirius looked slightly horrified.  
  
"Workaholic? You? Oh, Gods, why?" He pretended to sob in misery.  
  
Remus just looked amused.  
  
Sirius stopped after a while. "You know, good old Moony here used to be a bookworm," he said slyly.  
  
Remus punched his shoulder lightly.  
  
"He also has an interesting love for dirty socks as a perfume."  
  
The punch was less light this time.  
  
"And he has no fashion sense at all - I mean, look at his hair!"  
  
This time Sirius had to duck as Catch That Snitch! A Seekers' Guide flew through where his head had been and slammed into the wall. Remus winced and picked it up.  
  
"Oh, look at his concern!" Sirius cried, and ducked Remus' fist. "He could have harmed his best friend - the book! His precious - ack! Moony!"  
  
"Oh, look at my lack of concern. I harmed my best friend. Woe betide me. Demons claim my soul," Remus said dryly.  
  
"Sirius, are you trying to hint at certain similarities between Profes - I mean, between Moony and I?"  
  
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Harry," Sirius said sweetly, his face innocent and angelic. It was slightly marred by his still-haunted eyes, but it was enough to make Harry snort.  
  
"Books, messy hair, dirty socks -" Harry picked one up and flung it across the room. It landed on Hedwig's head as she flew in the window.  
  
"Oh, she'll have Hermione's reply!" Harry said. Hedwig nipped him hard on the finger when he picked up the slimy sock, but allowed him to untie the message. He set it on his bedside table next to the potion, and his face grew solemn.  
  
"I don't know what Uncle Vernon's going to do once you leave," he sighed. "I'll be fine, I'll just mention that since you're in the area you're thinking of dropping by later - and of course he'll think you'll turn the house into a pile of mashed potatoes." He snorted as he had before. "So, how are things going? Does Fudge believe anything yet?"  
  
"No," Sirius answered. "We've convinced a good deal of the Ministry to believe, but there have only been two attacks, and those pretty minor, comparitively. Only four people have been killed. But it's four too many." He sighed and trailed off.  
  
"I don't think he's going to believe, Harry," Remus said quietly. "He doesn't want to. He'll get killed or kidnapped or cursed, and he still might not believe, even as it happens. He's too blind. It's really too bad. I'd always thought he was an all right chap - he rejected the plan on harsher treatment of werewolves, too. A bit fumbling, a bit clumsy - but overall good. Now, though - he's endangering the lives of every single person he convinces."  
  
Sirius nodded, and looked suddenly very tired. "I don't know, Harry," he said wearily. "Things are getting dangerous. I'll just be happy when you're back at Hogwarts. You won't be safe until then."  
  
The fire burned lower, and Remus stared into it, his eyelids growing heavier. It had been good to see Harry again, and their visit had obviously cheered him up - but it was also hard, because behind the eyes that had once belonged to Lily, he had been able to see the sadness, the guilt, the weight of everything that he had faced - that he never should have had to face.  
  
Why was it Harry? Why did it have to be Harry?  
  
He sighed. So far, all had gone as planned. He and Sirius had gathered the remnants of the old crowd, having a good deal of trouble with Fletcher, who had immediately attacked Sirius when he transformed on his doorstep. Sirius had ended up clutching a broken shoulder and sporting a bloody nose and a black eye, whereas Fletcher had ended up cornered with an angry Sirius explaining everything to him. Remus had considered not healing Sirius right away, because his friend had been extremely harsh - after all, it would be like making him meet Peter. But he had healed him as best as he could - he'd improved his skills at healing broken bones since the Shrieking Shack.  
  
"Moony, are you still awake?" Sirius' voice said from behind him.  
  
"Yeah, Padfoot," Remus sighed heavily.  
  
"I can't sleep, I'm too worried."  
  
"And your shoulder hurts, I bet."  
  
"No, actually. You healed it pretty well."  
  
"Mmm. Good."  
  
"I just keep thinking about Harry.I've been having some pretty weird dreams, like warnings, almost. It's weird."  
  
"What happens in the dreams, if you don't mind?"  
  
"Well." he sighed, and sat on the floor, "it's strange.I'm in a weird room. The walls seem to shimmer with a sort of pale-blue light. I'm looking down as if from above. Harry's standing in the center, very still, and I can see a rat in front of him. I'm trying to warn him, because I know it's Peter, but I can't say anything." Sirius hesitated. "Harry's got his wand in his hand. The rat is coming toward him, but he doesn't see it, he's just staring at a spot straight ahead of him. He presses a hand to his forehead, and when he pulls it away his fingers are covered in blood. He still doesn't see Peter. Peter bites his ankle, and Harry's blood starts spurting out, only this blood from his ankle is black and thicker, like congealing ink. He doesn't say or do anything, just lowers his wand, and then he collapses to the floor. The black blood pools around him, and it's more blood than he can possibly bleed, but it's still coming. Peter changes to his human form and examines where he bit Harry. Peter looks up at me and sort of smiles, then looks back at Harry, and." Sirius bit his lip. "Harry dies. I can't see it, I just feel it. And Peter.he's not smiling anymore."  
  
Remus shook his head. "I know," he said quietly. "I'm worried about Harry too. But it's a dream. It isn't real."  
  
Sirius didn't answer, and there was silence for a long time.  
  
"We are here today to plan the resistance against Voldemort's rebirth." Dumbledore's voice echoed eerily off the walls, and several people looked uneasily around.  
  
"You already know what happened the night he rose again, not even a month ago. He has shown little sign so far, and I would like to find out why this is. Severus, if you would."  
  
Snape stood from his chair and faced the old crowd. Many faces were new, as well. Too many of the fighters had been killed in the old days of fear and battle.  
  
"Voldemort's circle is growing," he said, his voice straightforward, his face unreadable. "Already, in the past weeks, the number of his followers has grown. Despite this, however, he seems to be halting. Many of us believe this is the calm before the storm. He is planning something. What, I could not say, but we should be prepared. By the end of the summer, I suspect that several of you in this room right now will be dead."  
  
Uneasy or nervous glances were shot back and forth, and a murmer, a ripple, shot through the crowd.  
  
Snape paused before continuing. "No one, outside of this room, is to be trusted with any information given, with a very few exceptions. Not your brothers, your sisters, your husbands or wives, not your children, your superior, your instructor, not a Ministry official, a priest, a doctor, a servant. You will tell no one." Dumbledore nodded, and Snape sat again.  
  
"The Ministry and all other places have been infected," the old Headmaster sighed. "Those thought to be brave and noble have stooped to the worst possible level. Each of you will have an assignment. Some of them are very demanding. If you believe this is too much, notify me, please. Do not speak to others in this room except Severus or myself about your assignment unless it is absolutely necessary. All information will be brought directly to me, all completed reports will be handed to me, not copies are to be made of this. Information, secrets, in the wrong hands, could mean the death of any of us here, or anyone else: the Minister of Magic, heads of countries, Harry Potter.anyone and everyone is in danger."  
  
At Harry's name, Remus saw Sirius flinch, as if he had been slapped. He sighed and directed his attention onto the man who had just stood from his chair.  
  
"Ian Cambell, Professor," the man said. "I was wondering whether now that the Dark Lord has Harry Potter's blood, is the boy no longer safe where he is? Is he to be relocated?"  
  
Remus decided he liked Mr. Cambell. He noticed Sirius' head snap up again at Harry's name. His eyes were fixed on Dumbledore.  
  
"As to that, Mr. Cambell, Harry is safer where he is than anywhere else - except perhaps Hogwarts."  
  
The man sat down, looking uneasy. This was clearly not the answer he had wanted. Sirius' face was unreadable.  
  
Arabella Figg stood then, fixing her hawk-eyes on Dumbledore. "Sir, I have, as instructed, kept an eye on Harry Potter. Is there to be a replacement, if I am to be a resistance fighter once again?"  
  
"I am afraid that now, it will make little difference whether or not I place a watch on Harry. In addition to this, he has tendancies to resent that sort of treatment, I have found, and it makes him much less trusting." Sirius shifted at this, looking restless.  
  
Another man stood. "Christopher Moon. I was wondering, sir, are these assignments full-time projects, or will we still be attending our usual work?"  
  
"A select few of the assignments are full-time, and all of the arrangements have already been made with your various departments. Also, your superiors will give you time off if you need more to work on the assignment. You will each be given a letter that will allow you access to almost any resource you need. However, most of your duties as a member of the resistance will not require you to take time off, although it will be time- consuming and dangerous in most cases."  
  
"Dumbledore," Alastor Moody's voice growled from near the front, although he did not stand up, "any of us could be taken, and an imposter could easily take our places."  
  
Dumbledore smiled slightly and nodded. "They could," he said, "except for this." He held up a glass ball, almost the size of a soccer ball. Blue lightning seemed to swirl inside of it when he touched it, but when he set it down, the lightning went out.  
  
"When each of you gets your assignment from me, you will touch the ball and say your name. Furthermore, before each meeting, each of you will have to do the same to enter. If the bolts are red, it does not recognize you. In that case, you will be automatically Stunned."  
  
"How are we going to touch it without getting Stunned, then?" a woman's voice called.  
  
"I will be touching the globe as each of you do, Mrs. Kramer," Dumbledore said simply. "That is the process with recognizing. It already recognizes me. After that, only one person will touch it at a time."  
  
"Sir, do we know who to avoid? Do we know of any Death Eaters?"  
  
Snape stood again, turning to them. "There are several we know, yes. Most of them were at one point suspected in any case. Lucius Malfoy. Walden MacNair. Jeffery Crabbe. Dennis Goyle. Ian Avery. Peter Pettigrew. Daniel Nott."  
  
Remus saw eyes narrow or jaws drop at Malfoy's name, and Macnair's and Nott's and Avery's and Pettigrew's. Crabbe and Goyle were not well-known by any means.  
  
"How have you found out about these.Death Eaters?" someone asked.  
  
Dumbledore answered this time. "Harry Potter witnessed them all coming to Voldemort's rebirth."  
  
Again, Sirius winced at Harry's name.  
  
"Sir," a witch said, standing. "Do we have any Seers this time? There are.disturbing rumors of the Dark Lord being invincible. He could not be killed before. Is he stronger now or weaker?"  
  
"We have one Seer, and he does not have a good deal of Sight yet. As to your second question, he is weaker now than he was at his height, but his power is growing at an alarming rate, which is why we must act now instead of waiting for support."  
  
"About how many Death Eaters are there now? How many support him?"  
  
"About sixty have the Mark officially," Snape said. "Not counting those in Azkaban. Of these, ten are in his inner circle. Those without the Mark, or those under the Imperius, are uncountable.overall I would say he has perhaps eight hundred."  
  
An alarmed muttering whipped around the room like a light, disturbed breeze, and died away. "Will the world know of us, or are we to be secret?" a young man, looking barely out of school, asked, his voice strong and sure.  
  
"The world," Dumbledore said quietly, "will know not our names, nor our faces. But the world will know that we are, and we must be certain that everyone knows why we are. We are the resistance, and although Voldemort is rising stronger than ever, we will continue fighting until the light prevails and the shadow is vanquished forever!" His voice ended in a shout, and a silence took the room. Then as one, the hundred and fifty proud wizards and witches of the Resistance stood and cheered his words on.  
  
Remus sat down and sighed heavily. "I don't know, Sirius," he said quietly. "It's practically the front lines. I want to, God knows, but."  
  
"It's going to be hard," Sirius agreed. "But I've got a feeling. I have to. For Harry and Lily and James, if nothing else."  
  
"I don't know how he expects us to do it. Are we supposed to actually penetrate Malfoy Mansion?"  
  
"I suspect so.I might be able to get some help on that, actually. I knew Narcissa Daniels at school. I might be able to.I don't know."  
  
"Sirius, I hate to burst your bubble, but you're on the run."  
  
"I know, but she'd know I didn't do it. She'd have seen Pettigrew, known about him, a long time ago. And she.well, I can always convince Harry to spy on Lucius' son."  
  
"Don't you dare," Remus said sharply. "Draco Malfoy is probably already preparing for Death Eater initiation. He could kill Harry, if he found out, I'd bet. Lucius is his father."  
  
"You're right," Sirius said. "Go on and tell me I'm stupid, and then I'll inflate a new bubble of pretend happiness for you to pop."  
  
"You're stupid, Sirius."  
  
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans Special Edition.it came with adult flavors, like rum and whiskey and vodka. It even had red wine and cigarette butts. At least, that's what I guessed." A dreamy look came across Sirius' face.  
  
"And you hurled every one of them when James stole some from Honeydukes. You ate them all and you hurled them all."  
  
"Pop!" Sirius said glumly. "You are a depressing man, Remus. You could depress a dolphin. You could make a monkey cry. You could make anything cry. A llama, a pygmy goat, a hippo, a rhinocerous, and elephant, a ferret, a mongoose."  
  
"I hate llamas," Remus said darkly. "I tried to eat one once. They're quite annoying, and as I remember, it tried to bite me back. It tasted terrible - I only bit its ankle, but -"  
  
"Hey! I like llamas!"  
  
Remus grinned suddenly. "You like them?"  
  
"Not that way, you sick, dirty - ugh! There aren't words enough to express my disgust with you, Moony. There aren't words enough."  
  
"Not in your vocabulary."  
  
"Hey, my vocabulary is wider than yours!"  
  
"All right, paramecium."  
  
Sirius looked witheringly at him. "You call me a whatever-that-is again and I'll tell Harry and his friends that your soap smells like roses."  
  
"That's your soap, Sirius. Mine is the one with ground pumice."  
  
"The only reason pumice soap works is because it takes off the first layer of your skin," Sirius said disapprovingly. "Honestly, it is. It does. Pumice is rock. It scrapes off your skin. Nasty stuff. Better to have rosy soap than soap that rubs your hands off."  
  
"Sirius, we need to stop. We're arguing about soap. It's going to give me nightmares. I had an argument about soap."  
  
"Ooooh, Remus!" Sirius said in a high-pitched, girly voice. "Save me, Remus! The soap is coming! The soap is coming! I'm going to die of soap! Save me!"  
  
"Sirius, let's put it this way. I have a wand. You have no wand. I have the ability to turn your blood to liquid pumice soap, and then you will die of soap. So cut it out."  
  
"All right," Sirius said, and his face grew sober. "I'm taking the job. But how do we get into Malfoy Mansion?"  
  
"Sirius, I'm not so sure this is a good idea."  
  
"We will get caught if you don't shut the hell up, Moony!"  
  
"Under the drawing room, they said?"  
  
"Yeah. Shut up!"  
  
"Sirius."  
  
"I know where I'm going. I've been here once before. Shut up!"  
  
There was a long silence. Then, "Sirius, the spell is wearing off.are you sure you got it right?"  
  
"I don't have my wand. What's happening? Can you see me?"  
  
"No, but I can see your shadow."  
  
"Shit. Hurry up."  
  
"I'm going as fast as I - what was that?"  
  
"Shh!" There was a long, still silence, and Sirius' shadow crept silently forward. "The drawing room's up here."  
  
"Up these stairs?"  
  
"No! Don't touch them! Follow my shadow.oh, damn it, where are you?"  
  
"Here," Remus muttered, annoyed, as Sirius ran into him. "Grab my sleeve."  
  
Sirius did. They slowly moved forward, and Remus thought that Sirius put his ear to the door. Then there was a very hushed whisper. "There's no sound in there.but who knows?"  
  
"We have to risk it, I'd guess. You go first - your shadow isn't showing -"  
  
Remus pushed the door slowly open. It made no sound, and the inside was dark, but there was no sign of movement.  
  
He motioned for Sirius to come forward, then remembered he was invisible. "Come on," he hissed. There was a sudden rustle from in front of him, and a very puzzled house-elf appeared. "How did this get open, I wonders?" it muttered. "Won't do, won't do at all." It slowly pushed the door shut, and a tug on Remus' sleeve assured him that Sirius was there.  
  
The house-elf bustled around the room for well over half an hour, forcing Sirius to huddle in a corner when he lit the fire, lest his shadow be noticed. Then with a final look around, it left them in silence, muttering, "Master will be here soon.master will be most displeased if Huddet doesn't clean the passageway."  
  
"There," Sirius sighed. "Let's go."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Weren't you listening to the house-elf?"  
  
"Er.no."  
  
"It was avoiding this panel of the wall, here.said it didn't dare touch it in case he 'opened' it.this must be the way to all the poisons and everything he's said to keep." Sirius indicated one inconspicuous wall panel by taking Remus' arm and using it to point. "Tap it with your wand."  
  
Remus moved hesitantly forward and tapped the indicated panel. Immediately, a door-sized chunk of the wall vanished, forming an archway. In the air before them words formed, as if there was a sheet of glass there. Thank you, it read. He raised an eyebrow, and took a slow step forward. Nothing happened. He proceeded down a short stairway into the dark hall, Sirius behind him. The wall appeared again, leaving them in pure dark.  
  
"Lumos!" he whispered. Behind him, he saw his shadow appear. They were in a dark, damp stone hallway that split into two different directions. From the shadows, he could see Sirius was staring down to the left raptly. "Sirius, I can see in the dark better than you can. Take my wand. Go that way. Collect any potions or anything like that that could bring solid evidence. I'll go this way. Be back here in half an hour. If I'm not here an hour from now, don't come after me. Go for help."  
  
"No way!" Sirius protested, but Remus held up his hand. Sirius saw it by the shadows.  
  
"You can't help me if something happens to us both. It's our job."  
  
Sirius snatched the wand, and the light faded away. Remus turned down to the right and walked quietly along for some time. There was nothing but the dank stone for almost two minutes, and then he came to a huge room full of cages, stacked on top of one another, some huge, some tiny. A magical light in the center made his eyes hurt. But that was not what he paid attention to.  
  
"Oh my God," he heard himself whisper.  
  
The cages were filled with Dark creatures of every sort. Many boggarts; the ones closest to him turned into the moon. He ignored them, looking instead at the monster he recognized instantly as a Lethifold, a small batlike creature whose cage was different than the others, Fwoopers, several enormous Acromatulae, four Chimaeras in separate cages, a huge crate of Doxies, several strange things he had never seen before - but my God, could those be Erklings? - several Graphorns, griffins, manticores, even something that was perhaps a Quintaped, a Runespoor.  
  
There were also several empty cages that had thumping sounds from within them - Tebos?  
  
He stared around in complete horror. Many of these creatures were considered among the most dangerous things on earth. And Lucius Malfoy was keeping them under his floor.  
  
The only thing that could have possibly been worse than these things - many of them he had never seen before, but looked terrifying - the only creature he did not see that he feared, that was horrible and evil, was the Nundu, whose breath was so poisonous it could kill a hundred.  
  
He faintly, as if through a sudden haze, heard a noise behind him. He turned to the passageway behind him and came face-to-face with Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Too late he realized his shadow was showing. Malfoy's eyes widened in fury, and he raised his wand. "Finite Incantatem," he hissed, and Remus watched in horror and panic as he reappeared.  
  
"Hello," Malfoy said, his voice deadly steel. "And who might you be, and what might you be doing in my house?"  
  
Remus gritted his teeth. The passageway was narrow. There was nowhere to run.  
  
"No?" Malfoy said quietly. "Stupefy!"  
  
Remus fell limply to the ground.  
  
"Dammit, Remus, where are you?" Sirius muttered, clutching the unlit wand and the bag of poisons. He tapped his foot on the floor impatiently. "Damn, damn, damn." He trailed off into a string of other, less appropriate words, including several very colorful adjectives describing what he thought of the Malfoy family.  
  
He knew that it had been an hour already, and knew that he couldn't go after Remus, but he hated himself for it, and he just couldn't leave him.  
  
But he had to. He clenched his teeth and tried to Disapperate. Nothing happened. Damn, there must be wards, he thought. His shadow was very visible, and there was no knowing whether anyone might be in the drawing room.  
  
He ascended the stairs and pressed his ear to the wall. He sighed, unable to hear anything, and tried the Invisibility Charm again. His shadow faded - it was not gone, but it was less prominent. He tapped the wall with his wand.  
  
Walking through the doorway, he stared around the drawing room. It was still empty, and the fire was lower now. He sighed and hurried out of the room and down the hallway.  
  
Then when he got outside, he Disapperated to Hogsmeade.  
  
Remus woke to find himself in a very small cell, or a medium-sized cage, maybe six feet by six feet by six feet. His wrist was shackled to the wall. A throbbing headache made him dizzy. A familiar voice came from outside his cell.  
  
".werewolf, and was a friend of the Potters."  
  
"But his name, Draco. Who is he?" Lucius' voice, biting with impatience.  
  
"Lupin. Remus Lupin."  
  
"Ah, yes. My Master knows of this one. He will be pleased.this man can be our link to Harry Potter. Does the boy trust Mr. Lupin here?"  
  
"Yes, Father. He does."  
  
"Good, good.he is not a professor any longer?"  
  
"No, he left after everyone found out what he was, Father."  
  
"Ah.well, nonetheless, we can use him."  
  
"He vanished?"  
  
Dumbledore's eyes flashed dangerously. "Yes, sir," Sirius said quietly. "He went one way, I went another, and he told me if he wasn't back half an hour beyond when we were supposed to meet I was to go straight for help."  
  
"I am quite glad that you did," Dumbledore said quietly. "Lucius Malfoy is dangerous. It was foolish not to have more protection than a weak Invisibility Charm."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"I'll send Severus with you. And I will give you the Invisibility Charm myself. And Sirius, do not let your disagreements with Professor Snape stop you from finding Remus. Do not do anything impulsive, and trust Severus. He knows the Mansion much better than you do. I will take these poisons and concoctions to the Ministry."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Werewolf," a voice hissed from near him. "Wake up."  
  
He groaned and opened his eyes. The world did not come into focus.  
  
"Werewolf."  
  
"What?" he moaned, annoyed. "What d'you want?"  
  
"If you do not wake up, I shall be very much aggravated."  
  
"I'm awake. Who are you?"  
  
"I don't - well, it doesn't matter. Werewolf, I suggest you sit up."  
  
He tried, and collapsed back onto the thin, worn blanket, which was no pad to the cold cement floor. "Sit up, werewolf."  
  
"My name is Remus Lupin. Not 'werewolf'."  
  
"Sit up."  
  
"I can't."  
  
A hand roughly grasped the fabric of his shirt, and he was pushed into a slumped sitting position. He cried out softly. He didn't remember what had happened except that it had hurt, and as he felt his sore chest and arms and legs he realized with another cry that he had broken several ribs and one of his wrists. His ankle was sprained badly, and his arms were slashed visciously. He ripped the blanket with another cry as a sharp fiery pain shot up his arm, and tried without much success to bind his wounds. The man who had jerked him upright tried to stretch enough to help.  
  
"Why do I have to sit up? Why are you helping me?"  
  
"You have to sit up because he tortures only the weak."  
  
"Why do you care?"  
  
"Because I don't like the way they treat us. I'm not weak, not like some of them, and he knows it, so I just try to help who I can. Especially werewolves."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm a werewolf."  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
"Where did he catch you?"  
  
"I.I was in the passage."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I was.spying.finding things.he's a Death Eater."  
  
"I know. You were spying?"  
  
"My friend and I work for Dumbledore."  
  
"Friend? You were brought in alone."  
  
"Good. I hoped he got away."  
  
"He looked pretty angry when he took you away the first time. Oh, damn. He'll be here any minute now. Shut up and look strong when he comes, and answer any question he asks. He'll just torture you for it otherwise. No point. He'll leave you alone more if you're honest."  
  
"But there are some things I can't tell him."  
  
"Trust me, Mr. Lupin, if he asks you you'll tell him if he has to use Cruciatus and Veritaserum. And he will, if he has to, until he's sure you're being honest. It's pointless."  
  
"How long have you been in here?" Remus asked, squinting to see the man, making out very long, tangled dark red hair with a coppery tinge.  
  
The man answered just before Lucius Malfoy opened the door and glided in. "Fourteen years."  
  
"Slowly," Snape hissed. "Slowly, Black."  
  
"I want to -"  
  
"I don't know why Dumbledore sent you with me. You're just being trouble and - what was that?"  
  
"Shhh!"  
  
There was a moment of silence. "It's gone, whatever it was," Sirius whispered. "Can't we just -"  
  
"We can't 'just' anything in Malfoy Mansion," Snape growled. "We need to get to the other side, to where he keeps - where he used to keep his prisoners."  
  
"Prisoners plural? He's got more?" Sirius asked, astonished.  
  
"Certainly," Snape said, and sighed. "I suppose I was being optomistic about your intelligence. Witches and wizards vanished and it was thought to be a serial killing. In some cases, when it was werewolves, it was thought irrelevant." To Sirius' startlement, there was a tone of bitterness in Snape's voice.  
  
"I wouldn't think you'd mind about werewolves."  
  
Snape's face twisted in fury. "A life is a life!" he snapped. "The Ministry acted like it was a.a pet that had gone missing instead of a sentient being. No one, not even a werewolf, deserves that."  
  
"I don't see what it is about werewolves," Sirius sighed. "I don't understand why people consider them inhuman. Can you blame a five-year-old for not being able to outrun a werewolf?"  
  
Snape was silent. Then after a moment, making Sirius stare as if someone had just handed him a hippo on a leash, the Potions professor said quietly, "You're right."  
  
There was another silence, and Sirius sighed. "Come on," he said. "Let's find Remus and get out of here."  
  
Remus watched Lucius Malfoy as well as he could. A kind of fear that he hadn't known since Halloween 1981 had swept over him like icy water, and through it he felt a sick lurch in his stomach. Terror and helpless apprehension.these were the things of prey. These were things that he did not know well. Always before, it had been he who was standing over someone and they who cowered in fear. This thought made him feel even sicker.  
  
The pale man didn't even bother to stall. He stopped immediately before Remus' cell - cage - whatever it was - and tilted his head.  
  
"You," he said, grey eyes frigid. "Stand up."  
  
A collective sigh came from other prisoners - there were perhaps eleven in all. Most of them, in any case. Remus winced and tried to push himself to his feet. A burning sensation, a sort of tingling fire, spread throughout his body, and he slumped back against the bars.  
  
A dangerous smile came across Lucius' face, and he swung open the door, took one step in, gripped the front of Remus' robes, and with impossible strength lifted him to his feet and slammed him against the bars. A sharp intake of breath came from the man behind him who had warned him to tell everything he could.  
  
Gasping for breath, Remus moaned weakly. He was in agony, there was no possible way -  
  
"You will tell me what you know about the Potter boy."  
  
No point. He'll leave you alone more if you're honest.  
  
Harry.  
  
"No." Remus whispered. His slashed arms burned visciously, and Malfoy dropped him, letting him slide to the floor with a cry. He felt a hand gripping his chin tightly, and unwillingly opened his eyes. Their faces were less than an inch apart.  
  
"Tell me about the Potter boy."  
  
Remus was silent. Everything was silent. Then Lucius Malfoy stood, and Remus closed his eyes.  
  
"Crucio!"  
  
His own screams echoed inside his head and around the room. Blackness surrounded him, and he wanted to be swallowed up in it.he wanted to die.he wanted.  
  
"What do you mean, it's not there?"  
  
"What I mean, Black, is that he's moved his dungeons."  
  
"Well, we need to find them then!"  
  
"I really don't think you quite understand. He conceals everything. It will be guarded with spells, portraits, passwords - perhaps even guards. Even if we find it, we will never get inside, much less out again."  
  
"But Remus could be dying. We have to find a way, damn you!"  
  
"Correct on both counts," Snape agreed, not leaving Sirius any more comforted.  
  
Bliss.everything was right.everything was perfect.  
  
Tell me aboui the Potter boy. Tell me about his flaws.  
  
"Harry is afraid of endangering anyone. He always hesitates and tries to face danger alone. He is sensitive, and if he gets angry he can't control himself."  
  
Something is wrong.  
  
No, nothing is wrong, everything is perfect, everything is all right.  
  
Harry.Harry can break it.I can too.  
  
Break what?  
  
Something is wrong.  
  
"Harry can't stand being worried about. He doesn't want to be protected, he doesn't want extra attention. He wants to be normal. He lets his emotions get the better of him sometimes."  
  
Something is wrong.  
  
Tell me about his strengths.  
  
Sirius.Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry is very powerful, even though he doesn't know it. He is very brave and noble, selfless, and tries to help. He does the right thing. He conjured his first Patronus at the age of thirteen. He understands things. He is very insightful. He can make plans, although they can be impulsive. He can throw off the Imperius Curse."  
  
What?  
  
STOP IT!  
  
He can throw it off.he can throw off the Imperious Curse.something is wrong flawed broken happening bad awful wrong wrong wrong -  
  
STOP IT!  
  
"Harry is a Parselmouth. He is not afraid of death. He is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. He is tough and can go through a lot. He can, to some degree, perform wandless magic."  
  
STOP IT! Something is wrong.throw it off.Harry.Sirius.Dumbledore.Lily. James.  
  
Tell me things you have observed about Harry's friends and those who care for him.  
  
"NO."  
  
And then there was silence.a long, long silence.and pain.  
  
He had done it.  
  
Memory flooded back, and even as he trembled he smiled weakly. He had done it.  
  
But he had told about Harry.  
  
He opened his eyes.  
  
Lucius Malfoy's eyes were full of hatred and fury and disbelief.  
  
Then a cold smile, like a winter dawn, spread across his face.  
  
"Very well," he said softly, and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid. 


End file.
